Joy That Renews: A devotional from Psalms to refresh your life every day

By Steve Akerson

More than a devotional: A time of refreshing!

Everybody wants more joy and contentment in their lives. The Lord is very eager to give these to you, in abundance! If you are hungry for lasting joy, if you are eager to feel the overwhelming goodness of the Lord, if you want to experience first-hand God's deep and abiding love-the

• Language: English
• Publisher: River Birch Press
• Release date: Jun 24, 2021
• ISBN: 9781951561796

Steve Akerson

Steve Akerson is one of the Prayer Team leaders at Hosanna Church, which has 6.000+ members in Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota. Steve is enlivened by helping people understand the great things the Lord has for his people and releasing freedom and joy into their lives. He is very active in prayer and freedom ministries at Hosanna, for many years being a prayer and group leader in Hosanna's Water of Life ministry. Steve is also a lay chaplain at Hosanna. He serves as a board member of Global Avenue Ministries, a ministry dedicated to freeing and enabling women from sexual slavery in south Asia. Steve runs a marketing consulting firm in the Twin Cities. He lives in Minnesota with his wife of 44 years. They have three children and three grandchildren.

Book preview

1

River of Life

Seek the water of God’s nourishment; soak in it every day.

He will be standing like a flourishing tree planted by God’s design, deeply rooted by the brook of bliss, bearing fruit in every season of his life. He is never dry, never fainting, ever blessed, ever prosperous (Psalm 1:3).

Imagine yourself as this tree, growing in a specific place that has been selected by your King—a place that is purposefully located to be best for you. That’s exactly what the Lord does. Why? To make sure you are continually nourished by his brook of bliss, the stream the Lord uses to help you flourish in every area of your life.

This brook is everything God has designed for you and given to you, to help you be full of joy—that great combination of peace, contentment, hope, power, and love. God’s brook will supply you all the time—in good seasons and bad. You will prosper and have enough to love and be loved. Your growth, like a tree, will be natural, coming from the brook. It will seep into every area of your life.

And when you find yourself in a desert place where you face hardships, sorrows or fears sink your roots deeper. In this digging, you will find the Lord’s refreshing water.

This urges me to always seek the water of God’s written Word and the words he speaks to my heart. I love that he has a place of nourishment for me. The closer I live with Jesus, the more I will prosper, grow, and be fully alive.

2

The Joy of Humility

Our God is awesome. It is wonderful to be in humble presence before him.

Serve and worship the awe-inspiring God. Recognize his greatness and bow before him, trembling with reverence in his presence (Psalm 2:11).

What’s the most awe-inspiring thing you can think of? How about a majestic mountain range, or a new baby? However great those gifts are, God is infinitely more awesome.

It’s just incredible that you get to serve and worship this astonishing God! He welcomes you at his table and is eager to hear your prayers and your singing in worship (even if you can’t sing well). He longs for you to be deeply involved in who he is—God’s level of desire for you is almost beyond thought.

The truth that the Lord is so much bigger than you are is comforting. He can handle the big things that happen in your life and in the world around you. Knowing that Jesus has his eyes on you and will bring you freedom in all circumstances creates hope and peace in your life.

Your world is full of people who are also hungry for the Lord’s love. You can bring them encouragement, hope, joy, and peace. Pour out words of gladness over them—you both will love it.

It is so peaceful to place myself under God, to be humble before him, knowing that he is far greater than I am and way more powerful than my problems. I’ve learned that he can and does make himself clear to me even in my bad times. This makes me want to bow before him and give him my obedience, my heart, and all my concerns.

3

Shame Destroyed

With Jesus, you will live without shame.

But in the depths of my heart I truly know that you, Yahweh, have become my Shield; You take me and surround me with yourself. Your glory covers me continually. You lift high my head when I bow low in shame (Psalm 3:3).

Being trapped in shame will ruin your life. It doesn’t have to be so; you can be free. Don’t hang onto your sin and guilt. Confess your sins; repent right away. Using the authority of Jesus, command the enemy of shame to leave your life. Practicing these steps will break the back of shame in your life. You will live in security instead of anxiety.

Life teaches that you can’t be your own protector. With Jesus shielding you from your foes, you don’t have to worry about your past. Keep your focus on Jesus, he will take care of you. Believers, learn to love the picture of Jesus surrounding you with his glory—put that in your imagination and rest in it.

You will grow to live with your head lifted high. Jesus has removed your shame; he has shredded your guilt and demolished your fears and replaced them all with the joy of living in freedom from anything in your past.

Let God be your glory; let him take away the shame of your past and the fear of the future. He will change your life.

Learning the value of confessing and repenting from my sins and of using my spiritual authority to command God’s enemies to leave me has saved my life. Knowing that Jesus has completely destroyed my sin and shame fills me with hope.

4

Contented Sheep

You will live in safety and with a peaceful heart and mind.

Now, because of you, Lord, I will lie down in peace and sleep comes at once, for no matter what happens, I will live unafraid! (Psalm 4:8).

If you have kids or grandchildren, your heart has melted watching them sleep. They are amazingly still and peaceful! The ability to relax and sleep like that is precious. The world is so full of anxiety and worry, people are desperately trying to figure out how to get that much peace. You know it can only be found in Jesus.

As a believer, you can live—each and every day—in peace, comfort, and contentment. You can live this way even when things seem to be tumbling around you, and your hopes are not realized. Jesus has paid the price for you to live in peace, no matter what you face. That, fellow believers, is beyond anything the world could ever give you.

Sleep can sometimes be hard. Fix your mind on the fact that your safety has been bought by Jesus. Remind yourself that your security doesn’t come from your job, your family, or your bank account. Nobody but Jesus can bless you in such a powerful, life-changing way. The Lord’s gifts are steady and constant. You will live without any fears; they fall apart in the lap of Jesus.

I won’t let circumstances—even when they are breaking my heart—steal my joy, my rest, or my contentment. The more I learn to lean into Jesus and climb up in his lap and listen to his heartbeat, and the more I worship him, the more I have the kind of peace that surpasses anything I could imagine.

5

Listen Up

God is eager to hear your voice, and he will speak to you.

At each and every sunrise you will hear my voice as I prepare my sacrifice of prayer to you. Every morning I lay out the pieces of my life on the alter and wait for your fire to fall upon my heart (Psalm 5:3).

When your phone rings and it’s your son or daughter on the other end, your face immediately breaks out in a big smile as you hear good news from them. That’s what the voice of the Lord is like—it restores and renews your hope and joy. Just like talking, prayer is a two-way conversation. As you talk to the Lord, take time to sit still and listen for his voice too.

Your Father knows it isn’t always easy to pray. Time, work, and hassles all can get in the way. David was far from perfect, but one thing he did great was that he prayed to his King every day. Some days, just like you, all he had were the pieces of his life.

Jesus knows that and is eager to bring comfort and hope to you. Worship him quietly and out loud. And don’t hurry, let yourself settle down before the Lord. He will bring his fire to your heart and renew your life every day.

A Bible teacher I like a lot says that God has a lot more talk than I have listen. I’m finding that to be so true. How do I know when God has spoken to me? He only speaks in love. Everything he says to me will be good for me and others. I won’t get any type of condemnation from him—only love.

6

Dig Deep

Your Father will always show you mercy and grace.

Please deal gently with me, Yahweh; show me mercy, for I’m sick and frail. I’m fading away with weakness. Heal me, for I’m falling apart (Psalm 6:2).

What if you get a call from one of your kids, and it’s bad, even shattering news? This is the nitty-gritty of life. What can you do when even the worst happens? Everyone is in this place at one time or another; nobody is immune. In these times, David has some good practices to follow:

Call out to the Lord, asking for his mercy and grace. Be honest with him about how you feel. Continue to call out to him. Wait to hear from him, believing by faith that he hears you and will answer you, especially when your pain is great.

There are going to be times when his mercy and grace seem far off. In those times you will need to dig deeper to find his brook of nourishment. Don’t give in to despair or unbelief. Practice believing even when all you feel is pain. God will come through for you in the way that is best for your life.

Whatever your pain is, claim by faith that God’s steadfast love and mercy are surrounding you right now. Hang in there and take time to wait until you hear God’s voice. It will come.

I know my Father knows my pains and sorrows and that he will always be merciful and gracious with me. I will remind myself of that, run to him, and make him my refuge where I will live in safety.

7

Plant Thankfulness, Reap Joy

Practicing thankfulness and praise will grow joy in your life.

But I will give all my thanks to you, Lord, for you make everything right in the end. I will sing my highest praise to the God of the Highest Place! (Psalm 7:17)

Have you ever had anyone respond to your word of thanks with a grouchy look and a sharp word? Instead, you are most likely going to create a positive moment for both of you. The value of living with a thankful attitude is beyond measure.

• Being thankful will help you overcome the darkness you see around you every day.

• It will help you overcome other not-so-good attitudes that may crop up, such as anger, fear, judgment. These things are life-destroyers; thankfulness is a life-giver.

• It will help take your eyes off temporary problems you face and keep them on Jesus and your Father, where blessings, mercy, grace, and peace flow.

• It will encourage you and everyone around you. Being thankful will change your life.

This verse points out the relationship between thankfulness and God’s gift of making things right—his righteousness. That is very uplifting because God’s righteousness is eternal, and it covers everything. As you practice giving thanks to the Lord, you will gain more freedom to be who you really want to be. And thankfulness will also lead to praising God, which will lift your heart and produce contentment and joy.

The combination of thankfulness and the resulting contentment is very powerful for me. I want to breathe deeply in it and practice it so it surrounds me, which will make me happier, more joyful, and filled with peace.

8

Better than the Best

Our Lord is THE Lord. He seeks us out to lavish his love and care on us.

Lord, your name is so great and powerful! People everywhere see your splendor. Your glorious majesty streams from the heavens, filling the earth with the fame of your name! (Psalm 8:1)

When I was growing up, I always wanted my baseball glove to say Genuine Leather on it. Coca Cola® brags about being the real thing. We all want the authentic antique, not the